Two Weeks in Chicago
by Gryffindor112789
Summary: Hermione, Harry, and Ron travel to Chicago, IL, home of the Sears Tower and deepdish pizza. What will happen? Please R/R!!!
1. Invites

Disclaimer: Please R/R!!!  
  
Summer had begun, and so far, life for Hermione had been slow and boring. She missed her adventuress friends, Ron and Harry and their magical school of Hogwarts. As soon as school had ended she was ready for it to start again.  
  
Walking downstairs for breakfast, Hermione heard her mother talking on the phone. Thinking that it was probably a patient of her mothers, she helped herself to a piece of toast and the glass of orange juice that was waiting for her.  
  
'Hmm." Hermione thought. 'What should I do today? Should I read and then sit around doing nothing or sit around doing nothing and then read?' Feeling that this was going to be a very slow day, she chewed a little slower and listened to her mother's telephone conversation.  
  
"Oh Sue," Mrs. Granger said sympathetically into the phone. "I'm really sorry. Do you need anything? Money?"  
  
There was a pause.  
  
Hermione wondered who her mother was talking to. It obviously wasn't a patient because her mom had offered to give money. It had to be a friend or family member. Her mother continued talking.  
  
"Well, what if Hermione and I came and stayed with you for awhile? A week or two?"  
  
Another pause.  
  
Hermione was becoming even more curious at hearing her name mentioned.  
  
"No," her mother continued to the phone. "Your know what? We're going to come. Yes, and don't worry about a thing, everything will be ok. what about Sunday? Ok, I'll get flight information. Yes, uh-huh. Ok, Sue. I'll talk to you later. Yep, love you too. Ok, bye." She hung up the phone.  
  
"What was that about?" Hermione asked right away.  
  
Mrs. Granger sat down at the table and began buttering a slice of toast.  
  
"Well, Aunt Sue lost her job and is having some difficulties, so. I told her that we would come and stay with her."  
  
Sue Harris was Hermione's favorite aunt. She lived in Chicago, Illinois in the U.S. Hermione had visited her a few times in America but her aunt usually came to see them. She felt really bad that her Aunt Sue lost her job. After all, she did have two kids to support because her husband had died a few years back.  
  
"So, Hermione, would you like to go? It would only be for a week or so. Two tops." "Sure Mum! I'd love to go. Sunday, is it that we're leaving?  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Great! Alright, I'm going to go start packing." With that she stuffed the rest of the toast into her mouth and raced upstairs.  
  
She reached her closet and started pulling out clothes and throwing them on her bed. As she threw a sweater, it knocked a picture off her nightstand. She went over and bent down to pick it up. A smile suddenly lit up her face. The picture she was holding was a picture that Colin Creevey took of Harry, Ron and Hermione on the quidditch field. Oh, she missed them. All of a sudden, an idea hit her.  
  
"Mum!" she yelled down the stairs.  
  
"Yes?" her mother yelled back.  
  
"Can I invite Harry and Ron to come along with us? I mean, Brandon and Becky are our ages. We would all get along and I'm sure Harry is bored out of his mind. Please?"  
  
There was silence for a few seconds.  
  
"Oh. alright. I guess Brandon would like to hang around with other boys. Sure, why not? Go ahead and write them and say that we will pick them up on Sunday at 9:00 in the morning. Actually. see if they would like to sleepover here on Saturday night. It would be easier to get to the airport."  
  
"Oh thank you Mum!"  
  
Hermione skipped all the way back to her room. As she was getting out two pieces of parchment, a tapping sound came from the window. Hedwig was at her window. Smiling, Hermione let her in. Hedwig fluttered over to her arm.  
  
"You're such a smart owl, Hedwig. How did you know that I would need you?"  
  
Hermione put Hedwig down on her bed and wrote the letters to Ron and Harry. Finishing quite quickly, she tied them to Hedwig's leg and kissed her goodbye as she fluttered out of the window.  
  
Hermione exhaled and laid down on her bed. She turned and looked at the picture of her and her friends and she smiled. Her summer was beginning to turn out better than she had thought. 


	2. Can they come?

Disclaimer: Please R/R!!!  
  
The day after she sent her invitations, Hermione received answers from both Ron and Harry. Hedwig returned with Harry's letter first:  
  
Dear Hermione,  
  
I would love to go to America with you. Anything to get away from Dudley, Aunt Petunia wants him to go to a fat camp this summer and he's throwing fits!  
  
Uncle Vernon said that I could take the train to your town on Saturday, could you maybe pick me up? He was so anxious to get rid of me that he paid for the train.  
  
Please send me an answer back with Hedwig plus info on how long we're going to be there and what to bring.  
  
Talk to you soon!  
  
Harry  
  
PS- Can Ron make it?  
  
Hermione finished reading Harry's letter. She was so excited, Harry was coming! Hoping that Ron would write back soon with his reply, she waited on answering Harry's letter.  
  
Hedwig perched herself calmly on the bedpost and stared at Hermione as if waiting for her to move.  
  
"Sorry Hedwig, but would you mind waiting because I want to get Ron's letter before I write Harry."  
  
Hedwig seemed to understand and fluffed herself up a bit into a more comfortable position.  
  
Wondering how long it would take Ron to reply, Hermione walked downstairs to breakfast. This time it was Mr. Granger to greet her.  
  
"Morning Honey!" he said cheerfully looking up from his paper.  
  
"Morning."  
  
"So your mother tells me that you and her will be heading to Chicago soon."  
  
"Yes, and Harry too and maybe Ron."  
  
"Oh?" he replied in a surprised voice.  
  
"Yes, Mum told me that I could invite them."  
  
"I see," he said in an edgier tone. "She failed to mention that part."  
  
"Oh Dad!" Hermione said irritated as she took four pieces of toast upstairs to her room.  
  
'Hedwig is probably hungry,' she thought, so two of the pieces were for her.  
  
A surprised greeted Hermione as she walked into her room. Errol, Ron's owl, had made it with Ron's letter and was lying on Hermione's bed, panting.  
  
"Yes!" she said excitedly as she untied the letter from Errol's leg. As she did he eyed the toast in her hand.  
  
"Oh, here," she said smiling while she gave each owl two pieces of the bread.  
  
Remembering the letter, she quickly unfolded it and read Ron's messy writing:  
  
Dear Hermione,  
  
Hi! Yeah, America sounds great! Thanks for inviting me. I've never been to America before, have you? Who are we visiting and what are we going to do there?  
  
Dad says that he can put your fireplace in the Floo Network for an afternoon (Saturday, right?). Warn your parents about that because if they don't want us to do that, we can use a portkey to get to your house.  
  
Thanks again for inviting me and I'm looking forward to it. Oh, yeah, Ginny says hi.  
  
See you, Ron  
  
PS- Can Harry come?  
  
She finished reading the letter with a chuckle. Both of her best friends were coming with her to Chicago! She couldn't have been happier.  
  
Quickly she wrote out responses to them both about what to bring and how it was all going to work. Then, she tied them to the proper owl and opened her window. Hedwig zoomed out showing off her speed with slow, old Errol steadily behind her. Both owls flew into the distance and disappeared.  
  
Hermione ran into the hallway to the telephone and dialed her mother's dentist office.  
  
"Good morning, Granger Dental!" said the secretary.  
  
" Hello! May I please speak to Mrs. Granger?"  
  
"Who may I ask is calling?"  
  
"Her daughter Hermione."  
  
"Alright, one moment please."  
  
The secretary clicked off and soon enough Mrs. Granger came on.  
  
"Hello Sweetie," she said in an exhausted voice.  
  
"Mum! Guess what!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Harry and Ron can come!"  
  
"Oh that's great!"  
  
"But Harry is arriving on the train so can we pick him up?"  
  
"Yes, I think we can. And Ron?"  
  
"Oh, well. his dad fixed it so that he will arrive through our fireplace."  
  
"Our FIREPLACE?!"  
  
"Yes, it's called Floo Powder. Don't worry, it's easy and the fireplace will be fine."  
  
"Ok, if you're sure."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, I love you sweetie but I have to go. See you at dinner."  
  
"Bye Mum."  
  
"Bye love."  
  
They both hung up.  
  
'This is going to be great!' Hermione thought as she went downstairs to tell her less-enthusiastic father about her two companions. 


	3. The Boys Arrive

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Harry Potter related except the idea for this story. Please R/R!!!  
  
A few days had passed and it was now Friday. Hermione had been very busy with helping to clean their house and pack all of her things for Chicago, after all, they were leaving on Sunday.  
  
Now, the Granger House wasn't a complete mess but Hermione was obsessing on how it had to be spotless. Harry and Ron had never seen her house and she wanted them to get a good impression. Frankly, she was driving her parents crazy.  
  
In Hermione's suitcase were clothes such as shorts and tank tops because it was summer in Chicago. She also had her one-piece swimsuit and fisherman hat which helped hold down her bushy brown hair. Being Hermione, she also had many books weighing down her bag.  
  
When it was finally time for bed on Friday night, and only when Hermione was sure that her house was presentable, was she able to fall asleep.  
  
"Good morning 103.5 listeners! It's eight o'clock and what a lovely day it is." Hermione reached over to her nightstand and shut off her alarm. As she was preparing to fall back asleep, she caught a glimpse of the picture of her friends and bolted out of bed.  
  
"They're coming today!" she exclaimed brightly while opening her window shades to let the sun in. Remembering that Harry's train would arrive at eleven o'clock she jumped into the shower.  
  
Eleven o'clock came very slowly that morning. Hermione waited and waited and finally at ten-thirty her mother and her drove to the station to meet Harry.  
  
'Harry will probably need a trolley,' Hermione thought as she grabbed one from the entrance. Mrs. Granger and Hermione made their way through the crowded station over to Platform 7 where Harry would soon be departing from.  
  
At precisely eleven, Harry's train came rolling into the station. Hermione was practically jumping she was so excited. People started getting off the train.  
  
Many people had gotten off and still Harry hadn't. Hermione kept thinking to herself, 'Ok, the next person will be him. Ok, the next.'  
  
Eventually one of Hermione's best friends, Harry Potter, stepped off the train.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione shouted as she ran up to him.  
  
"Hi Hermione!" he said as he set down his bag.  
  
"Oh, Harry. I'm so glad that you could come." She was beaming at him.  
  
"Well, thank you for inviting me. I'm really glad that I can see you."  
  
At those last words she smiled even bigger. "Harry, this is my mother," Hermione said, leading Harry to Mrs. Granger.  
  
"Hello Harry," Mrs. Granger said warmly.  
  
"Hello Mrs. Granger. It's very nice to meet you."  
  
"Same here dear."  
  
"Well, shall we get on home to meet Ron?" Hermione asked them.  
  
"Yes, I think we should," replied Mrs. Granger. They loaded Harry's trunk and bag onto the trolley and wheeled it out of the train station to the car.  
  
The drive to the Granger House was pleasant. Harry and Hermione talked about what they had been doing so far over the summer. Neither had done much.  
  
As they pulled up to the driveway, Hermione became extremely nervous. 'Will Harry like my house?' She prayed that he would. Her mother stopped the car in the driveway and they got out.  
  
"Well," she said as Harry looked around. "This is my house." She stared at him, anxiously waiting to hear his thoughts.  
  
"It looks really nice," he said kindly and smiled at Hermione. She smiled back and helped him heave his trunk up into the house.  
  
Entering the house, the kids were greeted by Mr. Granger.  
  
"Hi everyone," he said.  
  
"Harry, this is my dad." Harry looked up into Mr. Granger's face and held out his hand. Mr. Granger let out a chuckle and pumped Harry's hand up and down. "Nice to meet you my boy." Mr. Granger led Harry into the kitchen while Mrs. Granger and Hermione followed.  
  
The four of them entered the Granger kitchen and sat down at the table.  
  
"Well," spoke up Hermione checking her watch. "Ron should be coming soon. Dad, you cleared the fireplace, right? Cleared all the debris and made sure no wood or anything was in it?"  
  
"Yes, it's all clear."  
  
"Alright, good. So. I guess we should just wait then."  
  
And they waited.  
  
And waited.  
  
They ended up waiting ten minutes until they heard a clunk at the top of the chimney. Then Harry and Hermione heard the sound of their other best friend, Ron Weasley.  
  
"Dad, I think we're here, but I'm stuck."  
  
"Yes Ron, I believe we are," came the voice of Mr. Weasley. "It seems that the muggle fireplace is a tad smaller than the wizard one. Not to worry though." With that, the Grangers and Harry heard a pop and Mr. Weasley and Ron came slithering like snakes down through the fireplace to a heap on the floor.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Granger stood gazing transfixed at the two men, not believing that they actually came through their fireplace.  
  
Ron and Mr. Weasley stood up and brushed themselves off. No one in the kitchen had said anything, so Mr. Weasley felt that he needed to break the silence.  
  
"Hi! I'm Arthur Weasley and this is my son Ron."  
  
"Hello," Ron said shyly to Mr. and Mrs. Granger as he held out his hand. Mrs. Granger finally snapped out of the shock of seeing two people slither out of her fireplace and shook Ron's hand kindly.  
  
"Hello Ron. It's very nice to meet you. This is my husband."  
  
Mr. Granger cleared his throat, smiled and shook Ron's hand. "Yes, nice to meet you Ron."  
  
"You too," Ron said.  
  
As the adults sat down at the table to talk, the three kids slipped out of the kitchen and into the living room.  
  
"Hi guys," Ron said in a more calm tone as he plopped down on the couch.  
  
"Hey," said Hermione and Harry together.  
  
"Ron, I'm so glad that you guys could be here," Hermione said as she too sat down.  
  
"I can't believe that Uncle Vernon let me come. It was probably only because Dudley has been throwing so many fits and Uncle Vernon has been so angry lately that he didn't even care about me leaving." Hermione let out a little laugh and the three started chatting again like normal.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Ron heard a call from the kitchen. "Ron!" came Mr. Weasley's voice. "I need to leave now but you have a great time on the trip. Be good, alright?"  
  
"Yes Dad, I'll be fine," Ron said rolling his eyes. Mr. Weasley gave him a hug and stepped back. Then, to the shock of Mr. and Mrs. Granger, he apparated back to The Burrow.  
  
"Well," said Mrs. Granger shaking her head unbelievably at what she just saw. "I'm really glad that you boys could accompany Hermione and I to Chicago. I think that we'll have a good time. Hermione, why don't you show Harry and Ron around?"  
  
"Alright Mum," Hermione said and she took the boys to different rooms, telling them about her home.  
  
The three of them had a great time that afternoon just laughing and chatting about their summer and what they were going to do in Chicago. To get there, they were going to take a plane, which only Hermione had ever done before. By the time that everyone was in bed that night, they were all really psyched about the plane trip coming tomorrow.  
  
Disclaimer: So. what did you think?? Please review!!! Thanks! 


	4. A Plane Experience

Disclaimer: Thank you so much for reading my story. I really hope that you enjoy it. Please, please, PLEASE, review it! It just makes my day when I see that I have more reviews, so thanks.  
  
"Hermione! Ron! Harry! It's time to wake up!" yelled Mrs. Granger from the hallway.  
  
"What's she on about?" Ron said confused as he sat up from his sleeping bag on the floor, his fire red hair sticking out from all ends.  
  
"C'mon," Hermione said jumping out of bed and pulling her clothes out of her dresser. "It's 6:10 and our plane leaves at 9:00 so we need to get a move on."  
  
Just then a snoring could be heard from the other side of the room as Ron fell back asleep. "RON!" Hermione walked to where Ron was sleeping and stood above him shaking her head in frustration.  
  
"Wait Hermione!" Harry said crawling over to her from his sleeping spot. "Lets get him good." An evil smile curled up on both mischievous faces.  
  
"Hold on, I know what to do." Hermione walked into her closet and started digging madly through a chest. Finally, after making a mess of junk behind her, she came out holding a small water gun.  
  
"We're going to get him good. with. a water gun?" Harry asked sarcastically.  
  
"Not just a water gun," Hermione said as she went into the bathroom. She came back with a glass of freezing cold water. Harry could see the condensation on the outside of it.  
  
"Ok, now your talking," he said smiling again. Hermione came over, walking slowly as not to spill the water. She and Harry crouched down right by the top of Ron's head. Hermione handed Harry the water gun and kept the glass in her hand.  
  
"Now, squirt him once or twice with the gun and see if he does anything," she whispered. Keeping one hand over his mouth so he wouldn't laugh, Harry slowly gave a squirt of water which landed right on Ron's left eye. Ron didn't move. Harry gave another little squirt and this time the water landed right under his nose and above his lips. This spot must have been the ticklish spot because Ron's hand came up and he gave a wipe. Then he rolled over and continued snoozing.  
  
"Alright, now he gets it!" Hermione stood up and motioned for Harry to do the same. As they stood, Harry leg banged into the desk leg and made a noise. Ron turned over and made a chewing sound before saying, "Uh-huh mommy, yes, it's under the table." This sent Harry and Hermione into silent giggles, which they quickly stopped. Hermione motioned for Harry to leave into the hallway while she backed away slowly. As she was almost at the doorway, she quickly dumped the glass of ice-cold water on the sleeping Ron and ran out of the room into the hallway with Harry.  
  
"AHHHHHHH!" they heard from Hermione's room. Harry and Hermione burst into giggles. Ron came storming out of the room, dripping wet as he pointed his finger at them both. "You two," he accused. "Are so dead!"  
  
"AHHHH!" screamed Harry and Hermione as they ran from the drenched Ron.  
  
  
  
Around 7:50, Hermione, Mrs. Granger, Harry and Ron arrived at the airport. Harry and Ron were constantly looking around at everything. Harry had known what airports were but never been to one while Ron was totally clueless on what anything was.  
  
"So we're going to go into the air in one of those jeets?" Ron asked looking nervously up at the sky as a 747 took off.  
  
"It's called a jet, Ron." Hermione explained in her know-it-all voice.  
  
"Oh," Ron said still mesmerized by the massive planes.  
  
The four walked into the airport and straight to the baggage area for their plane.  
  
"Whoa! Wicked!" said Ron excitedly as he watched the baggage conveyer belt go around in a circle while people put their bags on. "This place is so cool. I'm going to have to tell Dad about it."  
  
When the four were done loading on their bags and getting all of their information in order, they decided to go airport shopping. They passed fast food restaurants, magazine shelves, and souvenir shops. Ron wanted to buy everything but Hermione reminded him that they were going to be in Chicago for two weeks and that he should save what money he had.  
  
At 8:30, Mrs. Granger thought that they should go back to their gate. Although it was crowded, they found seats and sat down. Hermione, Harry, and Ron started chatting about what was interesting in the airport when suddenly something they heard sparked their attention.  
  
Two women, both around 35 were talking in hushed voices behind them. "Yes, Dumbledore is retiring." A blond, heavy woman said.  
  
"Oh, but he can't!" exclaimed the other lady, a red head.  
  
"He is though. It said so in the last issue of Wizard World. It was an article written by Rita Skeeter. It said that he was turning the job over to Minerva McGonagall and that he was moving to Spain because he liked the culture."  
  
"I can't believe it," sighed the red haired woman. The two ladies then got up and walked over to the vending machine at the other end of the gate.  
  
"What?!" shouted Harry as the three looked at each other nervously. "He can't retire. I mean, he just can't!"  
  
"Harry, calm down," Hermione said trying to sooth him. "The one woman said that the article was written by Rita Skeeter. You know how she always blows things out of proportion. Don't worry, I'm sure that he's probably. visiting Spain and she turned it into him retiring there." Hermione smiled warmly and her words made Harry feel better.  
  
Just then, a flight attendant moved to the microphone by the gate and turned it on. "Hello and thank you for flying American Airlines. We are now going to start boarding the plane. Can rows 1-10 please form a line by the gate so that we can admit your tickets?"  
  
Ron turned to Mrs. Granger. "What row are we?" he asked anxiously.  
  
"Eleven," she said bluntly. Ron slumped down in his seat crossing his arms, irritated.  
  
About seven minutes later the attendant came back on. "Can we please have rows 11- 20 come up now?" Ron practically leapt out of his seat and joined the line that was starting to form. The others joined him and soon enough they were at the entrance to the plane.  
  
"Hello, may I please see your ticket?" The flight attendant asked Ron. He fumbled through his pockets and found his ticket. The attendant looked it over and gave it back to him. "Enjoy your flight," she said smiling. She started to move on to check Harry's ticket but noticed Ron still standing in the same spot. "Is there anything else, sir?"  
  
"Is that it?" Ron asked confused.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" she asked curiously.  
  
"All you needed to do was check my ticket?"  
  
"Umm. yes that's all." She looked at Ron strangely.  
  
"Ron," Hermione said. "That's all, just move forward." She gave him a look that meant stop-making-a-scene and Ron stepped forward passed the doorway.  
  
Eventually, all of them were taking the walk to the plane through the hallway. "I'm so excited," Harry said smiling.  
  
"Me too!" Piped in Ron.  
  
"Me three!" Hermione said. They made their way to the doorway to the plane and were greeted by another flight attendant. "Hello may I please see your ticket?" she asked Ron. He showed her and she pointed the way to where they were sitting. The three kids had seats in a row by the window together and Mrs. Granger was sitting next to them but in a middle seat. Ron had begged for the window seat and had won.  
  
"Man, I can't believe that we're here!" he said grinning like an idiot.  
  
Within 20 minutes the plane was ready to take off. Harry and Ron had been talking in quiet voices about Quidditch when all of a sudden they felt the plane move. Ron looked out of his window and saw that they were no longer hooked up to the entrance hallway to the plane and that they were moving steadily faster along the track.  
  
"Here we go!" Hermione exclaimed to Ron and Harry, both of whom were now looking a little pale and scared.  
  
The plane was gathering speed. They were going really fast now. "Oh my god!" Ron said as the plane tipped back and lifted off the ground.  
  
"We're up! We're up! We're up!" Ron yelled so that the person behind them made an annoyed face.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione talked most of the flight while gazing transfixed out the window at the beautiful clouds below them. The flight was a long one, around 8 ½ hours but the kids didn't mind.  
  
Around five o'clock they arrived in Chicago, Illinois at O'Hare Airport. O'Hare is one of the biggest airports in the country.  
  
It took a little while to depart the plane but when they did and when they reached the gate in O'Hare Airport, three smiling faces greeted them. 


End file.
